This invention relates generally to barrel-type reciprocating machines and engines and more particularly relates to a system for cooling the intake air and cylinder to increase power and thermal efficiency.
In the past, numerous methods and apparatus have been proposed to increase power and efficiency of reciprocating machines without increasing their overall size. One of the methods proposed for increasing power and efficiency was to provide increased cooling of the engine during operation. It was proposed that the entire engine and its cylinders be surrounded with cooling coils through which a refrigerant was passed while the engine was operating. While this proposal has some merit, it was not entirely satisfactory because the coolant coils were completely external and had to attempt to cool massive amounts of hot metal. Therefore, tremendous amounts of refrigerant had to be pumped through the cooling coils in order to have a significant effect on the engine operation. Various other methods of increasing engine cooling have been attempted but have met with limited success.
The present invention provides an apparatus for tremendously increasing engine power and cooling while overcoming some of the difficulties noted above. The present invention is an improvement on the reciprocating machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,483, issued Oct. 19, 1965. The engine disclosed in this patent is a barrel-type having semi-circular intake manifolds surrounding cylinders having intake ports which are valved by opposing pistons in the angularly spaced cylinders. It was discovered that by cooling the air flowing through the manifold into the cylinders a considerable improvement in power and thermal efficiency can be obtained. The coolant tubes installed directly in the manifold cool the intake air increasing the density to provide more oxygen, cools the cylinder sleeve and intake piston controlling cylinder temperature and giving a controlled pre-combustion cavity and finally helps cool the water in the water jacket, reducing overall engine temperature. The cylinder and piston cooling also reduces emission problems because the high combustion temperatures which produce NOX (nitrous oxide) are not present.
It is an object of the present invention to provide auxiliary engine cooling which will increase thermal efficiency.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for directly cooling intake air as it is passed into the cylinder for combustion.
Another object of this invention is to provide a reciprocating machine with coolant tubes installed directly in the intake manifold to cool the intake air and the cylinders.
Yet another object of the present invention is to cool the cylinder to control the cylinder temperature.
Still another object of the present invention is to cool the intake piston to control the temperature of the pre-combustion cavity.
Another object of the present invention is to assist overall engine cooling.
Another object of the present invention is to provide cooling for intake air, combustion chamber and main cooling system without the need for a massive refrigeration system.
Other objects, advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers identify like parts throughout the drawings.